Payment
by RazorStormInc
Summary: Ichigo's inner hollow was the only reason he was alive. Ichigo has fought many battles that he couldn't have won if the hollow hadn't been there. Ichigo decides that he should give the hollow some form of payment.
1. Chapter I, A Great Day To Be A Hollow

_**Payment**_

Ichigo was sitting on the bank of the Karakura River, meditating. Without his inner hollow, he would be dead. he hated this fact, but it was true. He couldn't help but think he somehow owed the hollow some form of ... _payment_. The hollow had helped him more than some of his friends have. Ichigo decided that only one thing could possibly be considered payment in the hollow's eyes.

_**Control**_

An absolutely absurd thing to give a hollow, but it was the only thing that he could think of. He had to do this. He allowed himself to fall into his inner world. Upon entering said world, he found himself face-to-face with the beast, who was sporting his usual grin.

"Yo, King. It's been quite a while since you decided you weren't to good to talk to the horse." His voice held the same manic giddiness it always had, though since the defeat of Aizen Sousuke, a _very_ slight bit of respect had begun to slither its way in.

"It hasn't been _that_ long, hollow." Ichigo replied with unease. They didn't say anything for a couple of minutes. Hollow Ichigo was the first to speak.

"Why are you here, King? Are you here to train? Do you want advice?" The hollow began, pausing to bring his mouth to Ichigo's ear before continuing in a more serious tone,"Or are you here to give me something for a change?"

Ichigo smirked,"That's exactly why I'm here, actually. You've helped me quite a bit, so I figured you deserved a reward."

"Oh? So the king isn't a selfish piece of shit after all! What might my "reward" be?" The giddiness had found its way back into the hollow's voice, though it now held a bit more insanity than usual.

"For 24 hours, starting right now, _**you **_are king." Ichigo said causing the hollow to draw back.

"I'm sorry, I must be more crazy than I thought. Could you repeat that please?" The hollow's voice now held nothing but pure insanity.

"I said for the next 24 hours, you are in control." Ichigo said before disappearing.

The hollow's face took on a feral grin. who knew the king could be so much fun?

"Alright, King, since you're being so gracious I'll play by your rules! I'll put the time you've given me to good use!" The hollow yelled.

Outside the inner world, Ichigo was undergoing the dreaded transformation, taking the form of a horned Vasto Lorde. Once the transformation was complete the hollow began to stretch.

"Damn, the king really suprised me with this one. 24 hours, huh? I'll make sure that-" The newly formed hollow was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of a sword being drawn. he turned around and smirked.

"Yo, Renji." The hollow said as if nothing was wrong.

"I thought Ichigo beat your sorry ass into submission. Why the hell are you here?"

"It's a reward for all the help I've given him. For the next 24 hours _**I **_Am in control."

Renji looked at the hollow in disbelief,"Bullshit! Ichigo wouldn't do something _**that**_ stupid!"

"It doesn't matter if you believe me or not. If you don't like it, take it up with Ichigo tomorrow." The hollow said before appearing in front of Renji. "Until then, stay out of my way."

Renji was then met with pain. The hollow laughed as he drove his foot into Renji's back, sending him into the river, causing a massive explosion of water."

'So fast,' Renji thought before dragging himself out of the water. He coughed up a bit of blood before passing out.

"Now I can have some real fun," The hollow said before rocketing skyward. "I need a name though, it would be annoying to simply be called hollow all the time."

He thought for a moment before smirking,"Diablo Sangre. Yes, that is perfect."

He then took off in no particular direction. After a few minutes of flying, Diablo felt a familiar reiatsu, causing him to stop. He looked down and spotted Tatsuki and Orihime walking towards the local mall. His grin grew wider behind the horned mask when they looked up at him in terror. He decided that the 'fun' would begin _**now**_.


	2. Chapter II, Just The Beginning

Tatsuki looked on in a state of horrified wonder. She looked over at Orihime, and gasped. The healer's eyes were wide, blank, and were filled with tears.

Orihime spoke, "Tatsuki-chan, we need to run. We have to get away from him!"

Tatsuki looked puzzled, "You know who this is?"

Orihime took on a solemn expression, "You know him too, Tatsuki-chan. It's Kurosaki-kun, but he is not himself. If we stay here he may kill us."

Tatsuki's expression turned to terrified shock. She acted quickly. She grabbed Orihime's arm and started running, only to come face-to-face with the horned demon.

He grinned like a madman, though they couldn't tell.

"Where exactly are you going, ladies?" He asked, the resonance in his voice making them cringe. He sounded nothing like Ichigo.

"What's it to you, asshole!?"

"There's no need to be upset... well at least not with me. If you want to be angry with someone, be angry with Ichigo. He graciously gave me twenty-four hours to come out and play."

Orihime and Tatsuki looked at him, shaken by what they had just heard. Something told them he wasn't lying. They then realized that Ichigo had put the entire town at the mercy of a monster.

**::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::**

Alarms were sounding within the SRI. A hollow with a massive reiatsu signature had been detected moments ago.

"What the hell is going on?" Kurotsuchi yelled. The racket was interfering with his work.

"A very powerful reiatsu signature has appeared in Karakura town, it doesn't match any in the database!"

"How strong is it?" Kurotsuchi asked in an irritated tone.

The shinigami his was talking to turned to him with a serious, fearful expression, "It makes Aizen look like a child."

Mayuri's eyes widened. He left immediately to inform the captain commander.

**::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::**

Diablo was currently soaring through the air while holding Tatsuki and Orihime by the collar of their shirts, laughing at their screams of protest.

"Let us down you bastard!" Tatsuki yelled, causing the giddy hollow to laugh even harder. He looked down at her before speaking.

"Don't worry, I have a strong grip. I am very confident that I won't drop you." He then of course, dropped them on purpose. Orihime sceamed as she held onto Tatsuki. Just before they hit the ground, the found themselves being carried by the laughing hollow once more. He flew around for a few more seconds befor setting them down on the roof of a skyscraper that didn't have a door leading to the top floor leaving them stranded. He took of in a random direction, not saying a word to either of them.

**::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::**

Deep within the Maggot's Nest, Aizen retracted his consciousness, _"So, Kurosaki Ichigo has let his inner hollow roam free... just as planned._"


End file.
